The Wilted Rose
by Kathryne Buzolic
Summary: Everyone has a story, be it sad, adventurous, terrifying...There's always a story behind every smile, every sour look. Sometimes you just have to work hard to get to it. AU!Rose/Eleven


Hello, there, sweetheart. I have some time on my hands, so would you like to hear a story? Mm, I bet you would. What shall I tell you? Oh, I know. It's a lovely story, one you probably haven't heard before. I must warn you, however, that it's not a pleasant story. Not in the beginning, anyway. There may be tears and anger, fear and jealousy...But eventually there's happiness. Let's see, how should I start?

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There was a girl, a young girl, who dreamed of running away to the stars. Her head was in the clouds and everyday she wondered what it would be like to run. What it'd be like to have the entire universe at her fingertips. She dreamed of it every night. And her parents…Her parents always told her to focus on reality, that it was impossible to walk among the stars unless you stood on the moon. But she never listened. She never listened to them. One day, when the girl was about nine years old, she ran from home. Her parents were fighting and she was scared. All she wanted to do was get away. For a few days, she did. She got away and she ran around. But she missed her parents so much, even if they weren't always kind to her. And she went back home. But her parents...Her parents were gone. Not dead, not moved. Just gone. Everything was still there. The kettle was on, the TV was running, but they weren't there. They disappeared. Oh, she cried about it. She cried and cried until she realized that crying wouldn't bring them back. Nothing would. So she stopped crying. At nine years old, this little girl decided that she wouldn't cry, even if she was scared, or hurt. She wouldn't cry because it didn't help anything.

The girl's parents never came back. She didn't really know what happened to them. They just disappeared. So she grew up alone. Made her own lunches for school, told herself stories when she couldn't sleep….She was alone. And no one ever decided to keep her company. Then she turned sixteen and everything went to hell. A bad man, a mad man called the Master appeared. One day, England was peaceful, quiet. Then the next, the Master was there. And he tried to take control. But then another man, a man with a blue box, came. And he tried to stop the Master. He was killed. He and his blue box got blown up. They were gone and the Master was left with an army of aliens that took over. And since that day the man with the blue box died, everyone heard the drums. A fast, four-beat rhythm that'd drive you mad. But there were a few people that resisted. The girl was one of them. The Master hated her most. She never knew why, not while she was there, anyway. And he tried for such a long time to get her. Years. And the little girl who dreamed of running away had to run to survive. She had to run as fast as she could, otherwise he'd catch her. And she did. She ran. Everyday. Always with the running. Until one day…A particularly bad day. The anniversary of her parents' disappearance. It was storming outside, lightning everywhere. The girl was still running. She didn't care about the weather. She just knew she had to keep running. The Master had almost caught her….when she got struck by an odd blue light.

What happened next scared her more than she'll ever admit. Because she was in the middle of a building that had been destroyed years ago. A man with a long coat and a charming smile asked her if she was okay, how she'd managed to get back. She didn't know what he meant. He was called Jack. Jack Harkness. And he'd known another version of the girl, a version of the girl who'd been in love with the man with the blue box. She didn't know what else to do…So she ran. Again. Soon as he left her alone, she grabbed a few files that'd tell her what she needed to know and ran until she was miles away. And after that, she learned about another version of herself, and the man with the blue box called the Doctor. And she started to run again. She didn't want to face this man, this extraordinary man who'd known another version of her. She didn't want to face him. She knew he'd be disappointed when he saw what a warped copy she was. She'd disappointed too many people in her life. And she kept running.

Because she's afraid. She's more afraid than she's ever been before. And even though he's probably the only man in the universe who can help her, she's running from him. She won't say it, but she knows she'll let him down. And, even if she's never met him, she doesn't want to do that.

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Ah, now, I know what you're thinking._ Is that it?_ Hardly. This is just to get you started, sweetheart. There's so much more to this story. Now, you may be wondering what her name is, am I right? Her name is Rose. Rose Tyler. And this, my sweet, is only the beginning.

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**So I decided to copy&paste Rose's bio from my rp blog, therosewithallthethorns. I had originally posted this as a first person fic, but now I've decided to redo it! Tell me what you think, but please, no flames. There's a fine line between constructive criticism and being rude, you know. Last time I posted this, someone reviewed in a rather rude way and made me feel very stupid. _Please _don't do that.**

**The story will usually start as a 'story-teller' POV, but will be told in third-person, as this chapter was. Think of it like The Princess Bride. I'll occasionally have flashbacks that go into more detail about Rose's life, especially the years when the Master ruled. And if you're wondering about the narrator..Well..Wait and see. You may be surprised by who's telling this story. ;)**

**So...How'd ya like it?**


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